Ironing machine



Feb. `16, 1937.

.-N. H. wATTs IRONING MACHINE `Filed sept. 9, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 vgaInventor: Noble H. Watts,

His Attorney.

Feb. 1 6, 1937.

N. H. WATTS 2,071,187

v IRONING MACHINE Filed sept. 9, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor* Nble H.wtts,

H Attorney.

50 the machine.

Patented Feb. 16, 1937 PATENT oFI-ICE IRONING MACHINE Noble H. Watts,Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporationof New York Application September 9, 1932, Serial No. 632,365

10 Claims.

The present invention relates to domestic ironing machines andespecially to such machines of the type wherein the ironing is eiectedby pressing a heated shoe against a padded buck.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction andarrangement in a machine of this type, and for a consideration of what Ibelieve to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to thefollowing specification and the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective v'iew of an ironing machineembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof with partsbroken away to show the structure beneath; Fig. 3

is a face view, partly in section of the ironing machine; Fig. 4 is adetail view showing the cam structure; Fig. 4a. is a sectional viewthrough the shoe; Fig. 4b shows the arrangement of the heating units;Fig. 5 is an end View, partly in section and partly broken away, of themachine; Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a p-art of the mechanism, andFig. 7 is a detailed view, partly in section and on a larger scale ofcertain parts.

Referring to the drawings, I indicates the buck of the machine'and 2indicates the shoe.

The buck comprises top and bottom walls 3 and 4 provided with marginalflanges which telescope into eachother, as indicated at 5 in Fig. 3, and

are fastened together by suitable means such 0 as by welding, thuspositioning thewalls 3 and 4 in spaced relation to each other. Walls 3and 4 may be formed of relatively thin material, the wall 3 being formedpreferably of aluminum. They are reinforced by two channel irons 6, onelocated on each side of a center post 1, which extend through the lengthof the buck. The channel irons 6 are curved downwardly, the ends beinghigher than the center as indicated at 8. With this arrangement, whenpressure is applied to the buck, the ends are. depressed rst and deectso as to obtain a uniform pressure between the buck and the shoe lwhenpressure is applied. Also the shoe is curved reversely slightly. Thisarrangement insures even pressure during ironing. j

The central portion of lower wall 4 merges into a neck 9 which forms apart of a base or pedestal I0, which supports the buck. Base III is ofdi-4 mensions suitable to form a steady support for It is closed at itsunder side by a wall II. Extending transversely of wall II are spacedgrooves I2 which form tracks, and beneath each groove is a channelshaped holder in which is located a longitudinally extending supporting55 foot or runner I3, which may be formed of felt or other suitablematerial. As seen in Fig. 5, the felt feet I3 extend throughout thewidth of the base. Post 'I is rectangular in outlineas shownparticularly in Fig. 6. At its upper end, it is fastened directly toplate 3 and at its central 5 portion it is attached to neck 9. Its lowerend extends down in spaced relation to bottom wall I I. At I4 aretransversely extending cross strips which form braces for the top andbottom walls of the buck. Any suitable number of braces 10 I4 may beprovided.

Mounted on upper plate 3 is a pad I5 which may be formed from suitablematerial land which is fastened in place in any suitable manner, such asby means of cords as indicated at I6. Upper 15 wall 3 is provided with alarge number of perforations, the purpose of which is to permit thepassage of steam and moisture. In the use of an ironing machine of thistype, moisture is driven from the cloth being pressed into the pad. Itis 20 important that this moisture be carried away from the pad.Otherwise, it becomes wet and the operation of the machine becomesunsatisfactory. By providing a large number of perforations in top wall3, the water which enters the pad is 25 driven through the perforationsin the form of steam. A portion of the steam is carried away throughpost 1. The remainder condenses on lower wall 4 and is dischargedthrough openings 'IEL at Ithe corners of post I where it joins neck 309. In this connection, the use of a bottom wall 4 spaced from perforatedwall 3 is important in that it protects wall 3 from the atmosphere, thuskeeping it from being cooled and thereby preventing it from 'causingcondensation of steam ad- 35 jacent to it in the pad. In other words,top wall 3 becomes heated to a temperature such that the steam forcedthrough the pad does not tend to condense in the pad as it approacheswall 3, due to the high temperature of the wall. I have 40 found that bythis construction, pad I5 remains relatively dry, a thing which, asstated above, is important in an ironing machine of this type.

Shoe 2 may be made from any suitable material. Preferably, I make itfrom aluminum because of the good heat conductivity of this material.The shoe is electrically heated, being provided with suitable heatingcoils between its top and bottom walls. Preferably, I utilize forheating the shoe a plurality of heating units, each provided with athermostatic control element so that separate sections of the shoe areindependently controlled. In the present instance, two separate heatingunits, one for each end of the shoe, are indicated, I6 being the controlbuttons for regulating the thermostats, i. e., the temperature.

Referring to Figs. 2, 4a. and 4b, Ita and |6b indicate the two heatingunits. As best shown in Fig. 4a, they are cast flrmlyinto the materialof the shoe, being located in relatively heavy ribs and completelysurrounded by metal. The units are specially arranged so as to heatfully and evenly the edges of the shoe. To this end rsee Fig. 4b) eachunit runs rst down one side of the shoe, then entirely across the end,and then along the other side, after which it is coiled back and forth asuitable number of times at the central portion of the shoe. By thisarrangement, the heating unit is continuous and unbroken along the edgesof the shoe whereby the edges are evenly and uniformly heated.

In a machine of this type, ironing is done often at only one portion of4the machine, another portion being not used. Usually when only aportion of a machine is used, it is the central portion, the ends beingnot used. To prevent overheating of an unused portion of a shoe, Iprovide means for carrying heat rapidly from points of highertemperature to a point or points of lower temperature. For thispurpose,'the ribs in which the heating units are embedded are maderelatively heavy and are connected together by longitudinally extendingwebs or `ribs |62. The ribs are made of sufficient capacity so that theyquickly carry heat to points where temperature drops occur, this beingusually from the outer ends of the shoe toward the center, since asstated above when only a part of the shoe is being used, it is usuallythe central part. 1n other words, the heat conduction factor in the shoeis balanced so that heat flows sufciently rapidly from an unused portionof the shoe to a used portionthereof to maintain the temperature of theentire shoe relatively uniform, even though only a portion of the shoeis being used for ironing. This prevents the edges of the shoe scorchingthe pad when only a part of the shoe is being utilized for ironingpurposes.

Each heating unit is controlled by its own thermostat. The thermostat isindicated diagrammatically in Figs. 2 and 4a, ||id being the ther-'mostatic element, I6e the contact points, |6f the actuating spring, andI6@ the adjusting post. The thermostats are indicated as being of thetype shown in the patent of Simmons No. 1,743,073 of January '1, 1930.Their specific construction forms no part of the present invention. Theoperation of a thermostat of this type is well understood and requiresno further description. The thermostats`operate to close the contactswhenever the temperature falls below a predetermined value and to openthem again when the desired temperature is reached. To prevent thethermostat from operating when heat is extracted rapidly at the vicinityof the thermostat, arrangement is made for quickly transferring heatfrom other portions of the shoe to the thermostat. To this end, thethermostatic element I6d is vmounted on a relatively heavy post I6h`formed integrally with the material of the shoe.

The post is of a. size and is so arranged that when heat is extractedrapidly by convection in the immediate vicinity of the thermostatelement, it will ow from other parts of the shoe and through the postI6h the thermostatic element by conduction at a rate rapid enough tokeep the thermostatic element from operating until the shoe is more orless uniformly cooled.

Attached to the upper surface of shoe 2 are two spaced angle plates |1which are pivotally connected by parallel arms I8 to the rear end of a Ushaped frame |9. Frame I9 comprises two U shaped members, each having alower arm 20, an end arm 2|, and an upper arm 22. Lower arms areconnected together in spaced relation to each other by two rods 23 o nwhich are arranged wheels or rollers 24 and by a central rod 25 which isrelatively heavy. Upper arms 22 are connected together by a rear crossrod 26 and a forward cross rod 21. Pivoted on rear rod 26 and extendingforward parallel to arms 22 above rod 21 are two lever arms 28, oneadjacent to each arm 22. Extending transversely between the free ends ofarms 28 and beneath them is a cam bar 29 whch is adapted to be turned bya handle 30 from a horizontal position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 to aVertical position as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The lower edge of cam bar29 is fastened to angle` iron |1 by means of staples 3| and its upperedge is fastened to slide bars 32 by means of staples 33. Slide bars 32are carried Iin rectangular frames 34 fastened to the ends of arms 28 bystuds 35. The under sides of arms 28 are cut away as is indicated at 36in Fig. 7, and located in the space between slide bars 32 and theadjacent surface of the cut away portion of arms 28 are rollers 31 heldbetween spaced pins 38 at the ends of the slide bars. When handle 30 ismoved to turn cam bar 29 from horizontal to vertical position, or viceversa, rollers 31 roll along on the under surfaces of arms 28, thusreducing the amount of friction met with in moving the cam bar. Thestaples 3| and 33 hold the upper and lower edges of the cam bar when itis turned so that sliding movement is reduced to a minimum, the movementof the edges of the cam bar on the under surface of slide bars 32 andlthe upper surface of angle brackets |1 becoming primarily a turning orrolling movement.

Arms 28 are forced downward into engagement with cross rod 21 by means-of springs 39. The central portion of each spring 39 is coiled aroundcross rod 21, one end of each spring engages above cross rod 26, and theother end of each spring has an outward turned portion 40 which engagesa notch in a block 4| fastened to and forming a part of arm 28. Springs39 are given a suitable initial tension so that they hold arms 28 inengagement with rods 21 with a predetermined force.

Coiled on rod 21 is a second pair of springs 42, each having one endlocated beneath rod 26 and the other end located in notch 43 on theunderside of cam bar 29. Springs 42 serve to lift the shoe away from thebuck, causing it to follow the movement of the cam bar when the cam baris turned from vertical to horizontal position. The notches 43 are maderelatively deep so as to decrease to a minimum the total movement ofsprings 42.

With the foregoing arrangement, when cam plate 29 is moved from thehorizontal position .shown in Figs. 3 andl 5 to the vertical positionshown in Figs. 6 and '7, shoe 2 is forced downward away from arms 28 andtoward the buck, the movement being effected in opposition to springs 39which hold arms 28 stationary until the pressure on them overcomes thetension of springs 39. When cam bar 29 is moved from its verticalposition to its horizontal position, springs 42 lift the shoe, tendingat all times to hold the upper edge'of the cam in engagement with slidebars 32 and keep the rollers 31 in engagement with the under side of thecut away portions of arms 28.

At the rear of bottom wall II- is hinged abase plate extension or backplate 44 which is of a width equal to the width of the grooves formingtrack I2 and is provided at its edges with grooves 45 which when theplate is positioned horizontally, as shown infdotted lines Fig. 5, forma continuation of track grooves I2. On the under side of 'back plate 44,beneath grooves 45, are felt runners 46 similar to runners I3. Rollers24 are adapted to run in track grooves I2 and 45 to bring the shoe froma forward position where it is above buck l to a rearward position whereit is behind buck I. The forward movement of the rollers in the trackgrooves is limited by the forward ends 41 of the grooves as shown inFig. 5. The rearward movement of the rollers in the track grooves islimited by a stop 48 fastened to back plate 46 in a: position to beengaged by cross rod 23. For holding plate 46 in vertical position,there is provided a headed button 49 carried by the rear wall of thehood (hereafter described) which frictionally engage in an opening 50 inthe back plate. The rear wall of base Ill is spaced from bottom wall IIto provide an opening 5I of a size to permit lower arms 20 of` frame I9to pass through it to a position beneath buck I.

Connected to the rear edge of base I is an upstanding apron 52 of awidth somewhat greater than back wall 44. It forms with the adjacentwall of base I0 a pocket or space 53 to receive one portion of anarticle such as for example, a sheet or table cloth, while anotherportion is being ironed, thus protecting it from and keeping it out ofthe Yway of frame I9. Preferably apron 52 is pivoted or hinged to'baseI0 and is held in upright position by leaf springs 54 whereby it mayyield downwardly somewhat. `'I'hls enables the apron to move downwardlywhen the shoe 2 is in its rear position so that a` portion of an articlebeing ironed can be readily pushed into space 53, then when the shoe ispulled forward again to a position over the buck, arms 2I of the framewill engage the edge of apron 52, moving it back to vertical positionand pushing any excess cloth up toward the pedestal 9.

The operating mechanism above the shoe isV covered by a hood 55 which isfastened by screws 56 to supporting brackets 51 which in turn arefastened to arms 22 by the ends of rods 26 and 21 which pass throughopenings in brackets 51 and receive nuts 58 which hold the bracketsagainst the sides of the arms. In hood 55 is a slot 59 through whichhandle 30 extends. The operating handle for the switch which controlsthe heating circuits is indicated at 60, it projecting through anopening in hood 55. Fastened to the front of hood 55 is a handle 6I foruse in moving the frame.

When the shoe is lowered, it moves relatively to hood 55 which iscarried by the stationary arms 22 and to keep the mechanism within thehood enclosed at such times, I provide a vertical shield 62 which isfastened to the top of the shoe and extends across the front and twoends. Normally shield 62 lies within hood 55 as shown in Fig. It movesdown with the shoe and, as

shown in Fig. 4, is wide enough to keep the mechanism enclosed when .theshoe is in its table or other support on which the ironer .is

located, to form a continuation of bottom wall I I. This provides-acontinuous track across bottom wall II and back plate` 44 in which therollers 24 run. The U shaped frame together with shoe 2 may now berolled rearwardly, the shoe moving in a horizontal plane from theposition shown in full lines in Fig. 5 to position shown in dottedlines, wherein the shoe is to the rear of the buck. The material to beironed is now laid on the buck I, any excess material at the rear of thebuck dropping down into the space 53, apron 52 yielding rearwardly ifthe material presses against it so that it may be readily folded onitself in the space. After the material to be ironed is properlypositioned on the buck, the frame is pulled forward to the full lineposition shown in Fig. 5 wherein the shoe is directly over the buck. Itis held in this position by handle 6I and handle 30 is moved rearwardlyto turn cam bar 29 from its horizontal position as shown in Fig. 5 toits'vertical position as shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 7. As cam bar 29 isturned, it forces shoe 2 downward, the shoe swinging on the parallelarms I8. The arrangement is such that it reaches the buck before thefinal turning movement of the cam is completed and the nallturningmovement forces desired ironing pressure and after this pressure isreached, the springs yield, permitting pivoted arms 28 to move upwardlyon rod 26 as a pivot. This enables the ironing machine to pressmaterials of different thicknesses always with the same pressure, sinceafter the desiredpressure is reached, the arms 28 yield. Referring toFig. 7, it will be seen that arms 28 are shown as having moved upwardlysomewhat relative to arms 22. This is one important feature of myinvention since, as already stated, it insures approximately uniformironing pressure, irrespective of the thickness of the material beingironed.

The lower end of central post 1 is spaced from bottom wall I I adistance such that cross rod passes under it readily with a smallclearance. When ironing pressure is applied to shoe 2 by means of cambar 29, frame I9 turns sufficiently to bring cross rod 25, which isrelatively heavy, into engagement with the lower edge of post 1. Post 1,therefore, serves to transmit the pressing force from the upper arms 22of the frame to the lower arms 20 of the frame. In other words, post 1takes the vertical thrust, it being squeezed between the cross rod 25and the shoe 2. By this arrangement, I provide a. rm support for thebuck when pressure is applied to it through the cam bar 29 and the shoe2. Also, a. pivoting action can take place between rod 25 and post 1 toallow the shoe and buck to adapt themselves to material being ironed.

After the pressing operation is completed, handle is moved to turn cambar 29 and release the pressure on shoe 2, the shoe being raised awayfrom the buck as the pressure is released by means of lifting springs42. After the shoe is raised, the frame and shoe as a unit may be againpushed rearwardly to a position wherein the shoe is to the rear of thebuck.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. In an ironing machine, the combination of a buck, a support for thebuck, a U-shaped frame adapted to voccupy a position wherein its armsare above and below the buck, a shoe carried by the frame, means formoving the shoe toward pre-stressed by an amount such as to give the andaway from the buck, and a post between the buck and an arm of the framethrough which the pressing force is transmitted.

2. In an ironing machine, the combination of a buck, a support for thebuck, a post beneath the buck, a U-shaped frame adapted to occupy aposition wherein one arm is above the buck and the other arm is belowthe buck with a part beneath and spaced from said post, a shoe carriedby the frame, and means for moving the shoe toward and pressing itagainst the buck, said frame being moved by the pressure of the shoeagainst the buck to bring the portion thereof beneath the post intoengagement with the post whereby the latter transmits the pressing forceexerted on the buck to the lower arm of the frame.

3. In an ironing machine, the combination of a buck, a frame having anupper arm which projects over the buck, a shoe supported by said arm andmovable relative thereto, means for biasing said shoe toward said arm, alever arm pivoted to said frame arm, la cam which engages the shoe andlever arm for effecting movement of the shoe, and a prestressed springbetween the frame and the lever arm for holding the lever arm againstthe cam.

4. In an ironing machine, the combination of la buck, a frame having anupper arm which projects over the buck, a shoe, a link pivotallyconnected to said arm for supporting the shoe, a

lever arm pivoted to and adjacent said :frame 6. In an ironing machine,the combination of a buck, a base member beneath the buck provided witha track which extends transversely of and across the underside of thebuck, a back member pivoted at the rear of said base member and adaptedto move from a vertical position to a horizontal position, said backmember being provided with a track which forms an extension of the trackon the base member, a frame which runs on said track, a shoe carried bythe frame and movable thereby to a position above the buck and to aposition behind the buck, and means for causing pressing engagement ofsaid buck and said shoe.

7. In an ironing machine, the combination of a buck, a track extending'transversely of and across the underside of the buck to a point to therear of the buck, a frame which runs on said I track, a shoe carried bythe frame and adapted to occupy a position over the buck, and means forcausing pressing engagement of Said buck rnd said shoe, the rear portionof said track being hinged and adapted to be raised to a' verticalposition when theframe is moved to position the shoe over the buck.

8. In an ironing machine, a buck, a pedestal for supporting the buck,said pedestal extending to the rear of the buck, an apron pivoted to thepedestal at the rear of the buck, and a spring means tending normally tohold said apron in upright position, said apron forming with thepedestal a pocket for the reception of 'material being ironed.

9. In an ironing machine, a buck, a frame comprising spaced U shapedmembers and rods connecting them, the upper and lower arms of said Ushaped members being adapted to extend above and beneath the buck, ashoe, arms connecting the shoe to the rear portion of the frame, armspivoted to the frame and extending forwardly over the shoe, a cam barlocated between said last named arms and the shoe, means for turning thecam bar, spring means for lifting the shoe, and

pre-stressed spring means between the frame and the pivoted varms forholding the pivoted arms against the cam bar.

l0. In an ironing machine, the combination of a buck, a pedestal forsupporting the buck, a central rectangular, post beneath the buck, meansforming a track which extends from behind the buck to a point beneaththe buck,` a frame which runs on the track, -a shoe connected to theframe,

said frame having a party which stands beneath

